Just the fact that Galliani flew to Monaco.. means that something is moving to the right direction.. there is already agreement with Monaco.. now he has to convince the player... wich it will be really hard considering we are out of the CL .. and offers coming from Real Madrid & Arsenal..

He seems good from the videos in youtube... lets see what happens..

He is football’s Mohamed Ali – he floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee.

true, but diaby was the most talented of all the brothers that came after vieira....injuries ruined him. But technically he was a level above these fake brothers france is producing. I wouldnt want him and I really doubt we are interested because he is not the profile we need. He is a box to box midfielder. We are desperate for a quality defensive midfielder

There are ones who believe they're good enough to join the elite teams Barca's, Reals etc.. then there are those who want to be part of that journey in reaching the top rather than staying at the top.

Well hopefully G sells it like that..

Quote:

The FA has cautioned Flamini after his tussle with Mark Wilson. The Stoke City player was repeatedly fouling Wilshere, Flamini got irriated, went up to him and said, "Touch him one more time and I'll blind you".

no way would I want him at arsenal. he is not a defensive midfielder. He is basically a poor mans diaby and we dont need that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arsene

true, but diaby was the most talented of all the brothers that came after vieira....injuries ruined him. But technically he was a level above these fake brothers france is producing. I wouldnt want him and I really doubt we are interested because he is not the profile we need. He is a box to box midfielder. We are desperate for a quality defensive midfielder

Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has suggested that he wanted to swap pass-master Xabi Alonso for Gareth Barry because the latter was more versatile.

In the summer of 2008, then-Reds boss Benitez raised eyebrows on Merseyside when he attempted to land Aston Villa midfielder Barry and offload fans-favourite Alonso to Juventus.

But Liverpool failed to agree a feee with Aston Villa for Barry and both players stayed put.

The following summer Benitez, however, did sell Alonso to Real Madrid for ?30m, purchasing hopeless ?20m flop Alberto Aquilani as a replacement with Barry joining mega-rich Manchester City.

Benitez?s attempts to replace Alonso with Barry has long been the source of bafflement to fans and experts alike. Although Barry has played his part in City?s recent success, Alonso is widely regarded as one of the finest deep-lying midfielders in the world and was instrumental in Spain?s two European Championship and one World Cup win.

The Spaniard, now 30, has also helped Real to reclaim the La Liga title from Barcelona and it is understood that he did not want to leave Liverpool, where he had a contract until 2012, despite interest from the Spanish capital.

In his new book, ?Champions League Dreams?, Benitez has explained the logic behind the attempts, admitting the Barry?s versatility was an important factor.

?Barry appealed to us for a number of reasons. I have never been the sort of manager who prioritises a system above all else: I am willing to change and adapt my preferred formations given the strength of my squad or the requirements of a particular game,? quotes Football365.

?Barry was perfect: he could play as a central midfielder, of course, but he had some experience as an attacking left-back, which would be a useful option for home games where we were expected to go forward, and even as a left-winger.

?We knew we would have to sell players that summer if we were to raise the funds to bring in the reinforcements ? and, in particular, the British reinforcements ? we needed,? he wrote.

?That would require parting company with one of our current squad members who would fetch a substantial fee. We decided that the most likely candidate was Xabi Alonso, who had been a great player for us since we signed him from Real Sociedad, but had not quite performed to his best in the last couple of years.

?Negotiations with Aston Villa over Barry were much slower going, though. We could not agree a fee that we felt was suitable and it became increasingly clear there was little or no chance that a deal would be completed. At almost the same time as we made it plain to Juventus that they would have to meet our valuation if they wanted to sign Alonso, we pulled out of talks with Villa.?

myyy gawwwdd

I actually rate Barry as an anchor/CDM...but this....

And then he sells Xabi and replaces him with almost equally expensive Aquilani...........

I love laughing at Liverpool fans, but I have to say even I get angered just thinking about this.
How is Benitez still alive??

Aquilani at the time was a rising star at Roma. If you look at the ratings, his were consistently high ... I don't blame Benitez for getting Aquilani who turned out to be made of glass, if Alonso had been plagued by all the injuries that had Aquilani we might be here talking how good it was for Benitez to get rid of Alonso.